HANDOUT UNIT 1 Ex. 1 Prepare answers to the question below concerning article of U1 no page 9. 1. How was last month different in the area of alliances from the previous free years? 2. Why do CEOs aim to merge with other companies? 3. What was the reason for the previous slowdown? 4. What do the statistics say and why shouldn´t CEOs worry too much about them? 5. Why and when did the idea of conglomerates go out of fashion? 6. What is Comcast and what´s their motive behind the recent bid they have made? 7. What should CEOs be aware of when merging? 8. Why do CEOs fail to merge successfully? 9. What is herd instinct and why is it not always the best thing to follow it? Ex. 2 Match the words in left column with expression in the right column. cut the bill keep costs down announce alliance make takeover bid struggle to sell stay ahead of competitors dominate distribution channels spot good target make assumption improve chances of success add growth quote statistics share resources diversify portfolio win award experience difficult situation Ex. 3 Fill in the gaps TO BE AWARE _____ THE CONCEPT OF LINKED _______________ TO INSIST _____ UNSEGREGATED ______________ BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY BASED _____ SOCIAL _________________ TO ____________ 7% OF ________________ PROFIT TO N________________ ORGANIZATIONS UNILEVER IS ONE OF THE LARGEST ________________ __________________ COMPANIES TO FIND _________________ GROUND / HAVE A LOT IN ___________________ TO FORM A CORPORATE __________________ A MERGER BETWEEN TWO S___________________ DIFFERENT CULTURES TO ASK FOR C________________ BEFORE AGREEING TO SELL Ex. 4 Answer the questions about article on p.5 1. What is Novartis? 2. What have they announced? 3. What is Sandoz? 4. How big is the German generics market? 5. Why did many companies with generics subsidiaries try to get rid of them? 6. How do generics companies do business? 7. What do they do to remain competitive? 8. What do health activists oppose? Ex. 5 Translate the expressions into English zajistit rychlý růst prodej státních firem střety osobností vedoucí k neúspěchu nedávná nabídka na převzetí být znepokojen vývojem fúze pokus rozdělit podhodnocenou firmu založit výzkum na špatném předpokladu snížit účet za elektřinu pobočka v hodnotě miliard dolarů mít náskok před konkurencí soustředit se na jádro podnikání